I’m looking at buying a new MacBook, and I can’t decide between getting a 16” MBP now or waiting for the rumoured 14” MBP + eGPU. I’ll outline some background information below:
Current setup:
21” iMac (Late 2012), base model (2.7 GHz quad-core [I5-3330S], 8 GB, 1TB Fusion, GT640M 512 MB)
13” MacBook Pro (Mid-2014), base model (2.6 GHz dual-core [I5-4278U], 8 GB, 128 GB, Integrated GPU)
I originally bought the iMac as my first Mac a few years before first going to university. Upon my arrival at university, it was clear I needed something that I could take into lectures and labs, so I bought the MBP. This combination has been fine up until a few years ago, when the iMac started to show its age. Since then, it’s mostly been used in target display mode as an extension of the MBP. I struggle with only 128 GB of storage on my MBP, and it just about gets the job done with more intensive tasks (but does sometimes run in to issues).
Use Case:
I’m a PhD student in Planetary Science. I currently use my MacBook for:
The Problem:
It’s clear that I need a portable Mac, and that it needs enough power to handle the aforementioned tasks. I am not sure whether to splash out on a 16” for the improved screen real-estate, graphical performance, future-proofing, or wait for the 14” and attach an eGPU for portability’s sake. My current setup is getting extremely long in the tooth, and I’m having to work on it for 8+ hours a day due to COVID-19 so a machine sooner rather than later would be nice, but not essential. In terms of my budget, I’ve been slowly putting money aside for this for a while, and I’ve got enough to comfortably buy a base 16” (£2158 with the student discount), or, I am guessing, a mid-tier 14" + eGPU upon launch.
The Question:
Which option do you think best suits me, using the information provided above? 16” or wait + 14” + eGPU? There may be other options that I simply haven't considered, so let me know if you think of any!
Thanks for the help!
J
Current setup:
21” iMac (Late 2012), base model (2.7 GHz quad-core [I5-3330S], 8 GB, 1TB Fusion, GT640M 512 MB)
13” MacBook Pro (Mid-2014), base model (2.6 GHz dual-core [I5-4278U], 8 GB, 128 GB, Integrated GPU)
I originally bought the iMac as my first Mac a few years before first going to university. Upon my arrival at university, it was clear I needed something that I could take into lectures and labs, so I bought the MBP. This combination has been fine up until a few years ago, when the iMac started to show its age. Since then, it’s mostly been used in target display mode as an extension of the MBP. I struggle with only 128 GB of storage on my MBP, and it just about gets the job done with more intensive tasks (but does sometimes run in to issues).
Use Case:
I’m a PhD student in Planetary Science. I currently use my MacBook for:
- General MS office work, including writing academic papers, reports, reading PDFs, Mendeley, making presentations, spreadsheets etc.
- Very light work in QGIS (I have a powerful PC in my work office that runs ArcGIS which I use predominantly for my work, but the ability to do similar stuff on QGIS at home would be nice), and basic work in Google Earth Pro.
- Using statistical software such as R Studio and (extremely basic) MATLAB.
- Creation of posters for conferences in CorelDRAW/Illustrator.
The Problem:
It’s clear that I need a portable Mac, and that it needs enough power to handle the aforementioned tasks. I am not sure whether to splash out on a 16” for the improved screen real-estate, graphical performance, future-proofing, or wait for the 14” and attach an eGPU for portability’s sake. My current setup is getting extremely long in the tooth, and I’m having to work on it for 8+ hours a day due to COVID-19 so a machine sooner rather than later would be nice, but not essential. In terms of my budget, I’ve been slowly putting money aside for this for a while, and I’ve got enough to comfortably buy a base 16” (£2158 with the student discount), or, I am guessing, a mid-tier 14" + eGPU upon launch.
The Question:
Which option do you think best suits me, using the information provided above? 16” or wait + 14” + eGPU? There may be other options that I simply haven't considered, so let me know if you think of any!
Thanks for the help!
J